Kelheim Fibres presents award at 'Plan B' start-up competition

Dr Marina Crnoja-Cosic, Director New Business Development, and Matthew North, Commercial Director, represented Kelheim Fibres at the award ceremony. The manufacturer of special viscose fibres has been working with the BioCampus Straubing for many years and is a supporter of the competition, this year as prize sponsors.

In this capacity, Dr. Crnoja-Cosic was honoured to congratulate the newly founded team of Microbify GmbH on their third place and present them with a cheque for 3,000 Euros. As a spin-off from the University of Regensburg, Microbify works, among other things, on the use of old natural gas storage facilities for the production of green natural gas using extremophilic microorganisms. Dr. Crnoja-Cosic particularly praised the approach of reusing existing infrastructure in an innovative way.

At the same time, she was enthusiastic about the scope of the competition: “62 applications from Germany and all over the world show how much creative potential has been mobilised here. At the same time, the start-ups prove that their ideas also work economically. Only the combination of both will really move us forward and make our dream of a bio-based economy a reality.”

Driving the change from a fossil-based to a bio-based economy is a declared goal of Kelheim Fibres – their speciality fibres are replacing fossil materials in more and more applications. To this end, the fibre manufacturer seeks inspiration and exchange within its own industry as well as with innovation partners from outside the industry, start-ups and science in an open innovation approach.

“The cooperation with BioCampus Straubing is very valuable for us,” says Crnoja-Cosic. “Here we find people who share our passion for seeking innovative answers to previously unsolved needs.”